Daily Times

Brilliance comes in several forms. One of them is the current Inspector General of the Punjab (IGP) police, Dr Usman Anwar. A few days ago, hosted by a famous anchorperson Suhail Warraich, Geo television aired a program, “Aik Din Geo Kay Sath” (a day with Geo Tv), which shed some light on the routine of and work done by the IGP.

Despite all his efforts, Warraich remained short of introducing the IGP to the viewers. For instance, Dr Usman Anwar is a recipient of Pakistan’s highest police medal, Quad-e-Azam Police Medal, which he earned during initial days of his service in Sindh. It is a gallantry award meant for police officers of extra-ordinary abilities.

It is heartening to know that the IGP has rewarded Tariq Kamboh, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, with a memorial: naming after Kamboh a building of the Central Police Office. Kamboh, the brave heart, lost his life to religious extremists in Lahore on 16 December 2000. Nevertheless, the IGP’s act is inadequate.

Kamboh survived the age of religious extremism of the 1990s, when the country was fraught with sectarian conflict (Shia-Sunni rivalry). Trained in armed warfare and equipped with military weapons, Sunni extremist religious groups had been seeking refuge in Afghanistan. With the ideology of turning Pakistan into a Sunni state, these groups (mostly hailing from South Punjab) used to attack Shia Muslims. This was the beginning of the backfiring of Pakistan’s Afghan policy. Comparatively less-trained and ill-equipped Punjab police stood in the way and tried to bring the situation under control. Kamboh was one of the police officers who surfaced on the hit list of religious extremists operating from Afghanistan.

On 12 October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf imposed the martial law. Without knowing the ground realities, General Musharraf ordered the withdrawal of security from even the exposed police officers. The dictator wanted to impress the nation with austerity measures. The decision alone was an expression of the distance existing between the army and the civil order. The decision also reflected a reality that the army was oblivious of the repercussions of the Afghan policy on society. By stripping off the necessary security, this decision left Kamboh and other police officers at the mercy of religious extremists. It was incorrect to suppose that these police officers would arrange private security from their own pockets. The decision shattered the resolve of the Punjab police (especially of the lower rank police) to fight sectarianism and religious extremism. This decision eventually consumed Kamboh’s life. Interestingly, later on, General Musharraf also ran for his own security from pillar to post from religious extremists.

The point is simple: merely naming buildings after the brave heart like Kamboh is insufficient. Has the state paid monetary compensation to the Kamboh’s family? Has the IGP devised a policy and got passed any law from the Punjab Assembly not to withdraw security from the police officers (irrespective of their rank) who handle high profile cases and who are known to be on the hit list of criminal or religious extremist groups? The answer is in the negative. In this regard, the IGP has to come up with concrete measures.

Warraich also did another error. He did not ask any question on the existence and the performance of Women Police Stations. Though it is encouraging to see females joining the police service through Federal and Provincial Service Commissions, it is depressing to see their joining the men folk and ignoring the Women Police Stations.

In society, women are vulnerable to crime and violence. With the rising number of females commuting to and from colleges and universities, it is important to increase the number of women police stations, besides modernizing the existing ones, if they are still extant. It seems that the state’s overwhelming focus on cybercrime has made it to take its eyes off the physical crime, especially harassment at education and work place, against females. Society is conservative, so are women, who remain reticent and bashful.

Women Police Stations can play a role in striking a balance in society, which is otherwise refusing to drop male chauvinism. For instance, it is a matter of national shame that the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal sexually harassed a lady Tayyaba Farooq Gul. The NAB Chairman stooped so low as to harass a complainant sexually is unimaginable. Video recordings made the rounds but society remained blind and deaf. The police remained a silent spectator, and the then government remained compromised. Gul’s case is a tip of the iceberg. Criminals harm women when women remain unprotected in society, and when there are no precedents of accountability. Has the IGP taken any measures to protect women of society? Has the IGP utilized the services of female police officers (working on gazetted ranks with some field experience) to oversee a cluster of Women Police Stations in order to look after women in society? The answer is in the negative.

The point is simple: merely having female police officers in ranks is insufficient, tantamount to showcasing the soft image of the police, if they do not work for women in society. Keeping female police officers in male surroundings is bound to disconnect them from the problems and issues of women in society. The IGP has to come up with a declared policy in this regard.

Warriach plays soft to make his show palatable. He did not criticize the lackluster performance of the Punjab police on protecting Christian minorities. Policing is a twenty-four hour job and not a contract of nine to five. Every police station is having a list of Christian settlements and Churches. The police officer in charge (SHO) is also empowered to have a network of spies. There is Special Branch to smell something wrong. The question is: In Punjab, why are the police generally failing at pre-empting physical attacks on the Christians?

It is known that without society’s participation, the police alone cannot handle such an incendiary crisis erected on the sensitive subject of blasphemy, which is more a community issue than a religious one: community differences are expressed in religious terms. In this regard, the IGP has to develop a policy to establish a liaison between the police and public representatives (or notables) in a susceptible area to dissolve a mob timely and settle the issue in a Jirga setting.

The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.